Loving Arms and Kind Eyes
by Diamond Kindflower
Summary: Sofia and Amber discuss their memories of their deceased parents.


A/N: In order to understand this story fully, I recommend reading the story _Mysterious Newcomer_. This story takes place between chapters four and five. I want to thank AquaTurquoise for inspiring me with her story, _Daddy's Hands_.

Sofia lied on her bed with her foot sitting on a stack of pillows and an ice pack on her ankle. She looked around the room, looking for something to do. She had already completed her science project along with all of her other assignments, she had read almost every book in her room, she had used up all of the paper in her sketchbook, and playing with her dolls alone wasn't the same as playing with her friends or her sister. All she could do was lie there and watch the time go by. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Sofia called. The door opened and a young, blonde-haired girl wearing a yellow dress stepped into the room. "Amber?" "Hi, Sofia" Amber greeted. "I thought you were in Wei-Ling with Jun" "Well, that's how it was supposed to be, but Jun's aunt went into labor. Her whole family had to drop everything to go see her!" "Yeah" Sofia responded as she looked down and sighed. "What's wrong, Sofia? Is your ankle hurting you?" "Not really. The ice helps. It's just that I'm a little lonely" "Why don't you just call Baileywick?" "He probably has other things to do and I don't want to bother him." "What about your animal friends?" "Robin and Mia are nest-sitting, Clover's helping other rabbits find homes, and Whatnaught is out gathering nuts." "Well, I guess I could stay here for a little while." So Amber sat down next to her sister on the bed.

"You know, mom tells me that my daddy rushed straight home from work when he found out I was being born. He tried his best to stay calm, but he was freaking out more that she was! At one point, he almost fainted! Luckily, he managed to calm down once it was all over. But even then he didn't leave her side for almost three days!" "Yes, Daddy was the exact same way when James and I were born. He must have been driven twice as crazy once he found out he was a father of twins!" "Wow! How did your mom not know she was having twins?" "Well James was growing more towards the back so the doctor only picked up my heartbeat." There was a short moment of silence before Amber asked "So, Sofia, what is it that you remember most about your father?" "His arms" she answered "His arms were always so big and strong, yet gentle and loving. My earliest memory of him was when I was just two years old. I was lying on the couch and he just picked me right up and held me close. When he came home from work, the first thing he did was give me a big hug! Whenever I was sick or had a bad day, he'd sit me in his lap and hold me close." "That sounds nice. I must say, you sound so happy when you talk about your dad. How do you do it?" "Believe me Amber, I'm not always so happy. The truth is that I miss him a lot. He soon developed a heart problem and he seemed to get weaker and weaker as the months went by. I lost him just last year." "Oh Sofia, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have-" "It's ok. I like talking about daddy. My time with him was short, but happy." "I…I've lost someone close to me too." "Was it your mother?" The blonde princess nodded sadly as her lip began to quiver and her eyes watered. Sofia held her close as she cried. "There there, just let it all out. You must have loved your mom a lot for it to hurt so much." "Yes, she was the best mom ever!" "What do you remember most about your mom?" "Well," Amber said wiping the tears from her eyes "this may sound clichéd, but her eyes are what I remember. Ever since I was little, I thought she had kind eyes. They're the kind of eyes you'd have to see for yourself to really understand. Whenever I came home from school, I always loved seeing her face as she hugged me. If I was having a bad day or just needed someone to talk to, she would just gaze at me and I felt better in an instant. When I was sick, her mere presence was the most comforting thing to me. She was patient and kind and everything I could ever ask for in a friend! But I lost her to a terrible illness! Sometimes, things just don't feel quite the same anymore." "I know, that's how I feel sometimes. Even though my daddy isn't here right now, I still talk to him and I remember all of the fun times we had together. In fact, I have a trunk full of pictures of my family. If I do all of those things, it's kind of like he's still here." "Really?" "Sure. Don't you do that?" "Well, no. I've never even had such a deep conversation with anyone about mommy. To be honest, I feel better now that I've gotten it all out." There was another moment of silence before Amber declared "I have an idea! You know how you mentioned you had all of those pictures? Well I have pictures of my mother. Maybe we could make a memory scrapbook of our parents!" "That's a great idea, Amber!" So the sisters gathered all of the materials they needed and go to work.

Eventually, the girls completely filled their scrapbook and an assortment of precious memories beheld them. "Well, Sofia, I'd say we've created a masterpiece!" "You said it, Amber!" The girls opened the book to the very first page and memories of loving arms and kind eyes came flooding back.

Author's Note: Thanks, AquaTurqouise, for letting me use your idea to create my own story! And thanks to everyone who read this story and who has favorited my other works.


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